Bottle-cleaning machine



July 13, 1943. J. L. HEROLD 2,324,210

BOTTLE CLEANING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l J g, 4'? INVENTOR.

45 4 Flea BY WJAMESJQZZZQLD ATTORNEY.

y 3- J. L. HEROLD 2,324,210

BOTTLE CLEANING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JAMES L. HE ROLD A TTO RNEY.

July 13, 1943.v J. L. HEROLD BOTTLE CLEANING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FlG.9.

0 Vl/l/IlllllI/ July 13, 1943. J. L. HEROLD BOTTLE CLEANING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 emu.

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INVENTOR. JAMES L. HEROLD BY ma g, z

ATTORNEY.

Patented July 13, 1943 BOTTLE -CLEAN]NG MACHINE.

James L. Herold, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Barry-Wehmiller Machinery Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application May 18, 1940, Serial N 0. 335,980

9 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle-cleaning machines, and the novel features are especially desirable in a bottle-brushing machine wherein the brushes are moved into and out of the bottles.

This application is a continuation in part of an application for patent filed by me on September 27, 1937, Serial Number 165,821, entitled Bottlecleaning machines.

One of the objects is to produce a highly efficient means for yieldably securing the bottles during the cleaning operation. A further object is to aline the secured bottles with the cleaning device. To illustrate these features, I have shown rows of holders wherein the bottles are loosely supported, and a combined centering and securing device including a row of yieldable members movable toward and away from a row of the bottles. These yieldable members may be in the form of caps adapted to engage the ends of the bottles to secure them in the holders, at the same time centering the bottles to aline them with the cleansing elements.

Said caps are yieldable independently of each other to compensate for variations in the lengths of the bottles. Therefore, each bottle is secured and properly alined with one of the cleansing elements which may reciprocate in the bottle. The cleansing elements may be in the form of brushes having uniform strokes to brush the entire inner faces of bottles having predetermined lengths, but if a cleansing element imparts a longitudinal thrust to a relatively, short bottle, the cap which secures said bottle will yield to prevent breakage or other injury, and this will not interfere with the operation of the cleansing device.

Another object is to provide a machine of this kind wherein the securing, or centering, members are yieldably secured to a carrier which moves toward and away from the bottles, the stroke of said carrier being adjustable to set the device for bottles of substantially different lengths.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described and shown in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side view of an apparatus embodying features of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the opposite side of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top View of the apparatus, some of the parts being broken away.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view showing the adjustable stop device which limits the movement of the carrier for the yieldable bottle-securing devices.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the adjustable stop device in a different condition, for relatively large bottles.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6-6 in Fig.1, showing the means for securing the stop device after it has been adjusted.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view showing guide members for the carrier for the yieldable bottlesecuring devices.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 in Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a View showing two of the bottle holders, the yieldable centering and securing device seated on the bottles in said holders, the reciprocating brush guide immediately below the bottle holders, and the brushing device which includes brushes confined in the brush guide.

Fig. 10 is a view on a larger scale showing the brushes at the upper ends of the bottles, and illustrating a condition which exists when a relatively short bottle is lifted in response to the upward movement of a brush.

Fig. 11, is a view similar to Fig. 9, showing the yieldable securing device separated from the upper ends of the bottles, and the brush guide separated from the lower portions of the bottle holders.

Fig. 12' is a fragmentary top view on a larger scale, partly in section, showing a few of the yieldable bottle-securing members and a portion of the carrier to which they are pivotally secured.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged section taken approximately on the line I3--|3 in Fig. 12, showing a portion of one of the pivotal attachments for the yieldable bottle-securing members.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged detail view partly in section, showing means for supporting the carrier for the yieldable bottle-securing members.

The machine herein shown includes a main housing equipped with a bottle carrier in the form of a conveyor which comprises sprocket chains H3 at opposite sides of the machine (Figures 1, 2 and 3) and bottle holders I! carried by said sprocket chains. At the upper portion of the machine, the sprocket chains travel along horizontal supports 3.

It will be understood that rows of bottle holders I! are secured to the sprocket chains l6 so as to travel with the chains, and that any suitable means may be employed to impart the usual step by step movement to this bottle conveyor. It will also be understood that said conveyor may be constructed in any suitable manner, and that the invention is not limited to its details.

In Figs. 9 to 11, I have shown rotary brush spindles l9 provided with brushes 20. The spindles are adapted to be reciprocated to move the brushes 20 into and out of the bottles, and the bottle conveyor may be advanced step by step to carry the bottles into the paths of the reciprocating brushes.

To permit the brushes 2%) to freely enter the restricted mouths of the bottles, I have shown tubular guide members 2! which confine the rotary brushes when they lie outside of the bottles. The tubular guide members are secured to channel bars 22 which may be actuated to reciprocate the guides 2| in lines parallel with the brush spindles I9. The tubular brush guides 2| are reciprocated with the brushes while said brushes are moving toward and away from the bottle holders, but are at rest at the entrances of the bottle holders while the brushes move into and out of the bottles. In other words, the brushes 29 and tubular guides 2i move together from the position shown in Fig. 11 to the position shown in Fig. 9. The tubular guide members remain in this last mentioned position while the brushes are performing their function in the bottles, and the return stroke of said tubular members from the position shown in Fig. 9 to the position shown in Fig. 11, does not begin until the brushes are restored to said guide members.

The details for operating the brushes and brush guides have been omitted as they do not form a part of this invention. These details are described and claimed in the said co-pending application entitled Bottle-cleaning machines, Serial Number 165,821, filed on September 2'7, 1937.

Attention is directed to Figs. 9 and 11 showing a yieldable device which secures the bottles at the bottle-cleansing station, where the brushes move into and out of the secured bottles. In the preferred form of the invention, the yieldable securing device includes caps 23 adapted to engage the upper ends of inverted bottles, so as to exert a downward pressure on the bottles. The lower portion of each bottle holder is provided with a beveled seat 24 for the mouth of the bottle (Fig. 10) and a passageway 25 extending downwardly from said seat to provide an inlet for one of the brushes 20.

It will be observed that the bottles are smaller in diameter than the bottle holders and that they extend from the upper ends of said holders, the machine being adapted to receive bottles of diiierent diameters and different lengths. Therefore, the bottles are loosely supported by the holders when they arrive at the cleansing station. However, the yieldable caps 23 are movable toward and away from the bottles as will be hereafter described, and when said caps are effective, each bottle is clamped between a cap 23 at its upper end and the beveled seat 24 at its lower end.

To positively center the bottles in the hold ers, thereby alining the bottles with the brushing device, each of the caps 23 may be flared as shown most clearly in Fig. 10. The yieldable caps will not only secure the bottles in the relatively large holders, but also adjust them in the holders to the central positions desired for most efiective cleansing.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 12, there are two rows of caps 23 adapted to act simultaneously upon two rows of bottles. These caps are yieldably secured to a carrier which moves toward and away from the path of the bottle holders, and they may be pivoted to said carrier.

To illustrate this feature, I have shown a carrier including a long tube 26 which is provided with guide members 21 at opposite ends located between vertical guide bars 28 to prevent lateral displacement of the carrier. The tube 23 may be located approximately between the rows of caps 23, as shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 13, to form a simple pivotal support for all of said caps. Each cap is provided with an arm having a U-shaped member 29 which embraces the pivot 26 (Figs. 10 and 13) and a rod 33 extendingbetween and secured to the arms of the U-shaped member. The rod 30 is slidable in a spring seat 3!, and this spring seat has an extension 32 (Figs. 10 and 13) loosely secured in the pivot'member 25. A spring 33 is interposed between the spring seat 3| and one of the arms of the U-shaped member 29. This spring tends to force the cap 23 toward the bottle. Each cap 23 may be mounted in this manner. 34 designates an elongated stop member (Figs 3, l0 and 12) located above the pivot member 26 and adapted to be engaged by arms of the U-shaped members 29 to limit the downward movements of the pivotally mounted caps 23. When the caps are released from the bottles, the U-shaped members will engage the stop 34, as shown in Fig. 11.

It is to be understood that bottles of approximately the same capacity will vary in length, and even though the machine is set for bottles of a predetermined size, there will be variations in the lengths of the bottles acted upon by the caps 23. However, these caps are yieldable independently of each other so as to compensate for such variations. Each bottle is adequately secured by one of the caps before the brushing device is forced into the mouth of the bottle, so there is no danger of breakage which might otherwise result from a quick vertical movement of a loose bottle.

Furthermore, the stroke of the reciprocating brushes may be set to properly brush the bottoms of the relatively long bottles, and in this event, the brush will engage the bottom of a short bottle and impart a slight upward movement to the bottle as shown at the right side of Fig. 10. The caps 23 will yield to permit such displacement without injury to the bottles, and the brushes will engage and cleanse the bottoms of the bottles, regardless of the usual varia tions in the lengths of the bottles. If there is no bottle in a holder, the brush will merely engage the yieldable cap above the empty holder.

The means for moving the caps 23 toward and away from the bottles includes a pair of carrier arms 35 extending over the pivot member 26 for the caps 23, an oscillatory shaft 36 to which the carrier arms 35 are rigidly secured, and hangers 31 extending downward from said arms 35 and secured to the pivot member 26. It will be observed that the guide members 21 on the ends of the pivot member 26 cooperate with the guide bars 28 to direct the pivot member and caps in a substantially vertical path toward and away from the bottles. To provide" for the transmission of power from the oscillatory arms 35 to the vertically movable pivot member 26, the hangers 31, as shown in Figs. 3 and 14, extend through elongated slots 38 in the arms and are provided with rollers 39 seated on the upper faces of the arms adjacent said slots.

The weight of the long arms 35 and the caps 23 carried by said arms, tends to impart downward movement to the caps, but this weight is partly balanced by a spring 40 (Figs. 1, 2 and 5), said spring being attached to an arm 4| on the oscillatory shaft 36. This spring does not completely balance the weight, so we may assume that the caps and their carrier arms will move downwardly by gravity.

The means for lifting said arms 35 and caps 23 and controlling their downward movements, includes an arm 42 (Figs. 2 and 3) fixed to the oscillatory shaft 36, a driving arm 43 loose on said shaft, a rod 44 connecting said driving arm 43 to a bell crank lever 45 and a rotary cam 46 to actuate said bell crank lever. The loose driving arm 43 (Fig. 2) is provided with an abutment 47 adapted to engage the fixed arm 42, so as to lift the carrier arms 35 and caps 23 when said driving arm 43 moves to the left from the position shown in Fig. 2. During the return stroke of said driving arm 43, the carrier arms 35 will move downwardly until they are stopped by a device hereafter described, and the loose driving arm 43 will then move idly away from the fixed arm 42 shown in Fig. 2.

The means for limiting the downward movement of the carrier arms 35 comprises a stop device which becomes effective after all of the yieldable caps 23 are properly seated on the bottles, so as to exert a downward pressure on each bottle. This stop device is preferably adjustable to set the machine for bottles of substantially different lengths such as pints, quarts, etc. To illustrate this feature, I have shown an arm 48 fixed to the oscillatory shaft 36 (Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 5), a stop arm 49 loose on said shaft, said stop arm having an abutment 50 (Fig. 5) adapted to be engaged by the arm 48. The loose stop arm 49 is provided with a screw 5! movable in an arouate slot 52 in a stationary bar 53 (Figs. 1, 4 and 5), and a nut 54 on said screw adapted to frictionally engage said bar 53, as shown in Fig. 6.

However, instead of depending entirely upon friction to secure the stoparm 49, I have shown in Figs. 4 and 5 a plurality of stop members 55, 56 and 51 adapted to be engaged by said stop arm. These stop members are in accordance with the different sizes of bottles most commonly employed, so the stop device can be quickly and accurately adjusted for any one of these predetermined sizes. The stop member 55 (Figs. 4 and 5) is fixed to the machine, but the stop members 56 and 51 are pivotally supported, so they can be adjusted into and out of the path of the stop arm 49.

To set the machine for bottles of the largest predetermined size, the stop member 51 is positioned as shown in Fig. 5, and after the loose stop arm 49 is engaged with said member 51, said arm is secured by means of the nut 54 shown in Fig. 6. To set the machine for bottles of a predetermined intermediate size, the stop member 56 is employed as shown in Fig. 4; and toprovide for the smallest predetermined size, the stop arm 49 is engaged with the fixed stop member 55. After the desired adjustment has been made, the loose stop arm 49 is secured by means of the nut 54 on the screw 5|.

This adjustable stop device permits the hottie-securing device to be accurately set for bottles of predetermined capacities, and in each case, the caps 23 will yield to compensate for the usual variations in the length of the bottles.

I claim:

1. A bottlecleaning device comprising a traveling conveyor provided with bottle holders wherein the bottles are loosely supported, the lower portion of each bottle holder having a seat for the bottle, rotary brushing devices movable into and out of the bottle holders to brush the inner faces of the bottles in said holders, and a centering device comprising caps to engage the upper ends of the bottles in said holders, pivotal supports for said caps including U-shaped members secured to said caps and an elongated pivot member embraced by said U-shaped members, spring seats on said elongated pivot member, a carrier to which said elongated pivot member is secured, springs between each of said spring seats and an arm of each one of said U-shaped members tending to move each of said caps independently of the other caps about the axis of said pivot member in a direction toward said bottle holders, and means for moving said carrier toward and away from the path of said bottle holders.

2. A bottle-cleaning device comprising a traveling conveyor provided with bottle holders wherein the bottles are loosely supported, the lower portion of each bottle holder having a beveled seat for the mouth of a bottle and a passageway extending downwardly from said seat, rotary brushing devices movable through the passageways to brush the inner faces of the bottles in said holders, and a centering device comprising caps to engage the upper ends of the bottles in said holders, pivotal supports for said caps including U-shaped members secured to said caps and an elongated pivot member embraced by said U- shaped members, the caps being movable about the axis of said elongated pivot member, rods extending between and secured to the armsof the respective U-shaped members, spring seats yieldably secured to said elongated pivot member, each of said rods being slidable in one of said yieldable spring seats, compression springs between each spring seat and an arm of one of the U- shaped members, oscillatory arms secured to said elongated pivot member, a stop device to limit the downward movements of said arms and pivot member, and means for oscillatingsaid arms to move said caps toward and away from the bottles.

3. In a bottle-cleaning device provided with holders for the bottles to be cleaned and seats for the bottles in said holders, a securing device adapted to force the bottles onto said seats, said securing device comprising yieldable securing members adapted to engage th bottles in said holders, a carrier for said yieldable securing members, said carrier being movable toward and away from said bottle holders, operating means for said carrier, and a stop device to limit the movement of said carrier toward the bottle holders after said yieldable securing members have engaged the bottles, said stop device including a stop member movable with the carrier, a second stop member, and means to prevent movement of the second stop member during movements of the carrier, one of said stop members being adjustable for bottles of substantially different lengths, and said securing members being yieldable independently of each other.

4. In a bottle-cleaning machine provided with rows of holders for the bottles to be cleaned and seats for the bottles in said holders, a securing device to force the bottles onto said seats, said securing device including a carrier movable toward and away from said bottle holders, a row of securing members yieldably attached to said carrier and adapted to engage the bottles in said holders, and a stopv device to limit the movement of said carrier in a direction toward said bottle holders, said stop device including a stop member movable with the carrier and a second stop member secured to the machine to prevent movement of said second stop member during movements of the carrier, said securing members being yieldable independently of each other to compensate for variations in bottles of approximately the same size, and one of said stop members being adjustable to set the machine for bottles of substantially different lengths.

5. In a bottle-brushing machine, a traveling conveyor provided with rows of bottle holders adapted to loosely support inverted bottles, said holders having seats for the loose bottles, a securing device to force the bottles onto said seats, a reciprocatory brushing device located below the paths of the bottle holders and movable throughout the inner faces of the bottles in said holders, said securing device including a carrier movable toward and away from said bottle holders, a row of securing members yieldably attached to said carrier and adapted to engage the upper ends of the bottles in said holders, said securing members being yieldable independently of each other to permit lifting of a relatively short bottle engaged by said reciprocatory brushing device, and a stop device to limit the movement of said carrier toward the bottle holders, said stop device including a stop member adjustable to set the machine for bottles of substantially different lengths and means to prevent movement of the adjustable stop member during movements of the carrier.

6. In a bottle-cleaning machine provided with rows of holders for the bottles to be cleaned and seats for the bottles in said holders, a securing device to force the bottles onto said seats, said securing device including a carrier movable toward and away from said bottle holders, a row of securing members yieldably attached to said carrier and adapted to engage the bottles in said holders, operating means including an oscillatory lifter whereby said carrier is moved away from the bottle holders and, then permitted to drop toward said holders, a stop device to limit the downward movements of said carrier, said stop device including a stop member adjustable to set the machine for bottles of substantially different lengths and means to prevent movement of the adjustable stop member during movements of the carrier, and said securing members being yieldable independently of each other to compensate for variations in bottles of approximately the same size.

7. In a bottle-brushing machine, a traveling conveyor provided with rows of bottle holders adapted to loosely support inverted bottles, said holders having seats for the loose bottles, a securing device to force the bottles onto said seats, a reciprocatory brushing device located below the paths of the bottle holders and movable throughout the inner faces of the bottles in said holders, said securing device including a carrier movable toward and away from said bottle holders, a row of securing members yieldably attached to said carrier and adapted to engage the upper ends of the bottles in said holders, said securing members being yieldable independently of each other to permit lifting of a relatively short bottle engaged by said reciprocatory brushing device, a stop device to limit the movement of said carrier toward the bottle holders, said stop device including an adjustable stop arm, pivotally mounted stop members of different lengths movable into the path of said adjustable arm, a second stop arm secured to said carrier and adapted to engage said adjustable stop arm, and operating means including an oscillatory lifter whereby said carrier is moved away from said bottle holders and then permitted to drop until said second stop arm engages said adjustable stop arm.

8. A bottle-cleaning device comprising a traveling conveyor provided with rows of bottle holders wherein the bottles are loosely supported, the lower portion of each bottle holder having a seat for the bottle, rotary brushing devices movable into and out of the bottle holders to brush the inner faces of the bottles in said holders, and a centering device comprising a row of independently yieldable caps adapted to engage the upper ends of the bottles in said holders, a pivotal support for said caps, means for guiding the pivotal support in substantially straight paths toward and away from the bottle holders, and means for moving said pivotal support toward and away from the bottle-holders, said means including an oscillatory member provided with an elongated opening, a hanger secured to said pivotal support and extending upwardly through said elongated opening, the upper end of said hanger being provided with a roller seated on said oscillatory member adjacent to said opening.

9. A bottle-cleaning device comprising a traveling conveyor provided with rows of bottle holders wherein the bottles are loosely supported, the lower portion of each bottle holder having a seat for the bottle, rotary brushing devices movable into and out of the bottle holders to brush the inner faces of the bottles in said holders, and a centering device comprising a row of caps to engage the upper ends of the bottles in said holders, arms extending from said caps, a pivotal support for said arms, springs tending to move each of said caps independently of the other caps about the axis of the pivotal support in a direction toward the path of said bottle holders, guide members for directing the pivotal support in substantially straight paths toward and away from the bottle holders, and means for moving said pivotal support toward and away from the bottle holders, said means including oscillatory arms provided with elongated slots, hangers secured to said pivotal support and extending upwardly through said elongated slots, the upper ends of said hangers being provided with rollers seated on portions of said arms adjacent to said slots.

JAMES L. HEROLD 

